


Up on My Side (Under the Skin)

by by_nina



Series: Royai Week 2020 [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Angst, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Sexual Content, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:48:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24645907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/by_nina/pseuds/by_nina
Summary: She can carry all the guns in the world, fire bullets in every direction, borrow all the boldness they can give her, but she can never truly be unafraid of him. Day 2 - "Little Pistol" by Mother Mother for Royai Week 2020.
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Series: Royai Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779925
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	Up on My Side (Under the Skin)

There is no Riza once a gun is in her hands.

There is only Lieutenant Hawkeye, the Hawk’s Eye, no less deadly and formidable now than when she was on the battlefield. She wears a holster on her thigh and the gun pressed to her side like she would a mask; with these, she can appear unafraid of the blood on her hands and the price she must pay for spilling it. She can hold the world at arm’s length like she would a pistol and pretend that she cannot see beyond the end of the barrel.

This is how her clandestine new habit with the Colonel came to be. She no longer remembers who approached whom first or where they even disappeared to then, but somehow they had ended up spending the night together after a raid at a money laundering den on the outskirts of East City. They swore it was a mistake the first time, but it hasn’t stopped them from seeking each other out after every nighttime operation since. Their adrenaline rush turns into something more carnal; bullets and flames become greedy, tantalizing touches.

The strict, unspoken rule of it all is that they can only have these rendezvous at the end of an operation. It makes enough sense; their being together after hours would be justified in this context, especially as Roy would never otherwise be seen with the same woman twice, and he is careful to keep that image. But Riza keeps her reasons to herself. This arrangement makes it easier for her to separate her personal and professional selves, to detach herself from Roy even after she has bared so much to him, because she cannot lie to herself.

She can carry all the guns in the world, fire bullets in every direction, borrow all the boldness they can give her, but she can never truly be unafraid of him.

Soon, her fears would come to the surface.

They hadn’t underestimated the danger of tonight’s operation—an intercept of weapons smuggled all the way from Aerugo. Every member of the Colonel’s squad had been involved from the initial investigations, and they had had a reasonable amount of time to prepare, but the smugglers were highly perceptive and staged a counter ambush. At a crucial moment, she nearly found herself at the mercy of the group’s leader, but she managed to turn the tables with some quick thinking and an even quicker hand.

The operation ends successfully, but before long, Riza finds herself facing danger once again. She and Roy slip away together like always—tonight, they wind up in her apartment—and the flurry of grabbing and kissing each other stops without warning and with a whisper in the dark.

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant.”

“Colonel, don’t.”

“I should’ve been able to give you more cover.”

“I didn’t get hurt.”

Roy is gentler than he ever has been when he pulls her close again. His hands hold her more tenderly, as if he is afraid to break her; he leaves a new kind of warmth with every kiss on her neck, her shoulder, her arms. Riza thinks that she is letting him because she is frozen with fear—her muscles momentarily turn rigid in the desperate effort to build up her defenses once again. But without those defenses, he feels infinitely sweeter, and her body becomes hungrier for his—far too hungry to be afraid at all.

She is disarmed. She is braver than she has ever been.

In that moment, she wants him more than anything.

Her pistols are forgotten, and she lets him set it all on fire.


End file.
